Alexander Zverev fights back against Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals of the ATP Finals in Turin. But in the end he loses again to his feared opponent. This is already a tradition at major tournaments. Two other Germans provide history.
No happy ending for Alexander Zverev, who ended his complicated tennis year after a lost thriller without the longed-for tournament victory at the season finale. The world number two lost an exciting and hard-fought semi-final against US Open finalist Taylor Fritz 3:6, 6:3, 6:7 (3:7) in Turin and thus missed out on a place in the final.
Fritz was again an unpleasant opponent for Zverev. The “big points” went to the American, who has undoubtedly become the German’s feared opponent.
In the third set the game could have gone either way with hard-fought rallies and close games. The decision came in the tiebreak, in which Zverev fell behind from the start. Instead of playing for the title on Sunday, the German number one’s vacation now begins. Once again, Fritz ended Zverev’s hopes at a major tournament.
Only the doubles players Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz, who surprisingly reached the final, can ensure a German tennis festival at the ATP Finals on Sunday.
Following the strong comeback of the German Davis Cup duo and the 2:6, 6:3, 11:9 against the Australians Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson, Zverev entered the Center Court. In the atmospherically lit arena filled with 13,000 spectators But then Fritz decided sentence one.
In his fourth semifinal at the ATP Finals, Zverev wanted to make up for his defeats at Wimbledon and at the US Open against the Californian, but didn’t get off to a good start under the circumstances. As the first of two strong servers, the two-time ATP Finals winner had problems with his own service and conceded the break at 2:4.
Previously, he had not dropped his serve once in three appearances at the tournament worth more than $15 million. Now, after 27 minutes, a set was lost for the first time in the tournament. Zverev turned to his box questioningly.
Zverev sits casually on the board
At the beginning of the second period there was an unusual break in Fritz’s service game. Zverev cheered as the video images proved that the ball had not actually bounced twice before he hit it. The game was interrupted for more than four minutes until the decision was made. Zverev casually sat on the boards during the unusual break.
The rally was repeated, but Fritz still managed to make it 1-1. Zverev got into the game better in the second set. With his first break he took a 3-1 lead and equalized the set after 70 minutes. Everything was open again.
The Hamburger seemed closer to gaining the decisive advantage in the finish. At 2:2, as well as at 5:5, Zverev was unable to take advantage of opportunities when the fifth-placed player in the world rankings served. He also had to free himself from a difficult situation. But neither of them allowed a loss of serve – so the decision was made in the tiebreak with the better outcome for Fritz.
Historic success in doubles
Krawietz and Pütz are now the first German duo to reach the final of the doubles competition after the two came from a significant deficit in the semi-finals and fended off a match point in the match tiebreak. Krawietz and Pütz were the first German doubles team in the 55-year history of the tournament to reach the semi-finals of the tournament. Now they have topped this success.
“To be here in the final is something special, absolutely,” said Krawietz. “We try to stick to the routines and prepare well and then after the final we either celebrate or we celebrate anyway because it was a good end to the tournament. But not too much, because we also have the Davis Cup.”
jm/dpa
